LANDOVER — Less than a month ago, Trent Williams was furious. He trudged off the field at the end of a second loss to open the season, this one a dysfunctional four-point defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. Quarterback Kirk Cousins had thrown a late interception in the end zone. Later, his final heave to rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson failed.
Washington walked away with a bucket full of unfulfilled chances. The team was 0-2, heading to New York, and saddled with here-we-go-again chatter trying to push into their building.
On Sunday, Williams walked out of FedEx Field with a smile and his family in tow. He didn’t speak with reporters because so many of his teammates made plays, he wasn’t approached. Running back Matt Jones talked about his 135 rushing yards. Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan addressed his multiple sacks. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson commented on his hot start to the game. Defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois chattered about, well, most things, including his late sack. Jean Francois is a talkative man.
The Redskins’ 27-20 win against the Philadelphia Eagles was not perfect. They allowed a special teams touchdown. Cousins threw an interception that was returned for another touchdown. But, there is an enormous four in their win column now, something that a month ago had all the likeliness of the sun setting in the east.
“I know everyone doubted us,” Jean Francois said. “Then we went on the road and started winning. That was the opposite of what we wanted to do. But, we did it. We went out, we trusted one another. We trusted the coaching staff. We trusted each other on the field. … We kept saying we had one of the best teams in the league, but it wasn’t adding up because we were 0-2. Now, you see we’re knocking on the front door. But let everybody keep doubting us so we can stay in that area.”
There was a period of slippage last season. The team was moving in such a wayward direction that coach Jay Gruden called for a “code red” following two losses that dropped Washington to 2-4. It beat Tampa Bay the next Sunday to start a trek to the division title and a 7-3 close to the season. During the early grind this season, Gruden referenced those past travails, suggesting they would help this team fix its route. The defense reset itself. The play-calling evened out, leading to a season-high 230 rushing yards Sunday. By beating the Eagles, the Redskins have pushed themselves toward the top of the jumbled NFC East.
“You can never hit the panic button in this game,” Cousins said. “All I know is take it one week at a time and we will see where we are when the dust settles in January and hopefully February, which is always the goal. So you just have to keep playing. If you hit the panic button in this business, you don’t belong in this business.”
The Redskins entered Sunday’s game in the middle of the pack in sacks. When Eagles rookie right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai jogged out for the first snap of the game, he crouched, preparing for his daylong attempt to slow Kerrigan. From the start, Vatai was in trouble. Kerrigan roared by on the first play of the game, drawing a holding penalty, ripping quarterback Carson Wentz’s jersey and just missing a sack. Safety Will Blackmon picked it up instead, the first of five total on the afternoon. Kerrigan finished with two of them. Preston Smith, Trent Murphy and Will Compton converged on Wentz to close down a third-and-15 with 1:58 to play in the game. Philadelphia chose to punt. It did not run another play.
The sacks paired with quality third-down defense (the Eagles were just 4-for-12) to wipe the stain off two categories Washington has struggled with this season. Wentz was touted afterward by the Redskins defenders as an intelligent young player with substantial arm strength. That made it all the more important for the defensive line to push its way toward the 23-year-old rookie. Washington allowed two measly field goals on defense. Both came in the fourth quarter.
“Just guys getting comfortable,” cornerback Josh Norman said of the difference from a month ago. “Settling in and doing their jobs. Not worrying about somebody else’s — somebody making a play here, making a play there. Playing tough football. That’s the main thing. Playing tough football. Theses guys, they’re gritty and they’re grimy.”
A final burst from Jones with less than 90 seconds to play released tension. For 57 yards, he ran up the sideline on third-and-7 to lock away the win. That closing gallop made his earlier 1-yard touchdown, a 16-yard touchdown reception by Jamison Crowder, a 13-yard touchdown catch by Vernon Davis and two Dustin Hopkins field goals stand.
The Redskins are two weeks from the bye week and midpoint of the season. Next week is a run to Detroit to face the 3-3 Lions. The week after begins the oddity of traveling to London for a game in the middle of the season, where Washington will take part in a 9:30 a.m. start against the wobbling Cincinnati Bengals. Then, a break.
Those games look much different than a month ago. The season looks different. Four wins in four weeks does that.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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